It will come as no surprise that the five ballsiest moments of 2009 came during the Penguins’ run to the Stanley Cup championship.  Although they have had a very good start to this season, despite the current end-of-year malaise, the real gumption was on display during last year’s miraculous triumph.
#5

Evgeni Malkin shows off his out-of-this-world talent and puts the final nail in the Hurricanes’ coffin, essentially sealing the Eastern Conference finals in game two and sending Pittsburgh into the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year.  Not many have the cohones to even try this move, let alone succeed.

#4
Penguin GM [...]

Thankfully this is the regular season and not the playoffs.  If it was the post-season, the Devils would have swept the offensively-shackled Penguins and allowed just two goals in the four mind-numbing contests.  The Brodeur Wall has yielded just two goals to his talented rivals and zero in more than eight periods.  He consistently redefines stingy, having blanked the Pens in consecutive games and elevating his NHL record to 105 shutouts.
In a game that could have pitted two of Team Canada’s three netminders, Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma called on back-up Brent Johnson to man the pipes.  The first-year Penguin performed [...]

What was a foregone conclusion is now indeed fact: Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury were selected to Canada’s Olympic hockey team today. It will be the first Olympic experience for both players. Crosby was also named one of three alternate captains, along with Jarome Iginla and Chris Pronger. Scott Niedermayer will be team captain.
While Crosby will no doubt play a large role for the Canadians, it remains to be seen where Fleury fits in. One would assume Martin Brodeur will be the starter. That leaves Fleury and Roberto Luongo to vie for backup.
Jordan Staal, considered a longshot to make the [...]

BUFFALO 4, PITTSBURGH 3
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes. The Pens had a three-goal lead and were completely dominating play through the first 30 minutes of the game. Not only were the Sabres flat, but apparently their fans were too. Play-by-play man Paul Steigerwald mentioned at least two times how dead the Buffalo crowd was. Yet somehow the Pens lost 4-3.
I’m not going to waste anybody’s time by overanalyzing this stinker, but here’s a couple tidbits that will make you scratch your head (or make you vomit). The Pens lost for the [...]

Tuesday’s game in Buffalo marks the first of four on the road for the Pens, who will try to bounce back from Sunday’s disheartening loss to Toronto. The Sabres are 23-11-4 overall and 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.
The secret to Buffalo’s success so far this season is no secret. Ryan Miller leads the league with an amazing .935 save percentage and ranks second with an equally impressive 1.98 GAA. He’s earned all but two of the team’s wins.
Miller’s a stud. A former standout at Michigan State, he’s won 140 games the past four seasons for Buffalo. It will be [...]

What a buzz-kill.
Just 53 seconds after Mike Rupp’s tying goal, Toronto blueliner Ian White fired a slapper past Marc-Andre Fleury late in the 3rd to give Toronto a 4-3 win at the Igloo. As a result, Pens’ fans everywhere went from joyously celebrating to angrily cursing. Well, at least I did.
Somehow the Pens managed only 24 shots, their second fewest of the season. Somehow Toronto goalie/sieve Vesa Toskala, who entered the contest with an ugly 3.80 GAA and even uglier .869 save percentage, managed to get the win. And somehow Jason freaking Blake scored yet again against Pittsburgh – go [...]

Defenseman Mark Eaton will not play Sunday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs and is expected to miss at least a couple more games. But not to worry – the Pens have a more-than-capable replacement.
After losing Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill in the off-season, Pittsburgh compensated by signing veteran Jay McKee. Alex Goligoski was already penciled in the lineup to round out the Pens’ defense. A question remained, however. Who was going to be the team’s first option in case of injury? Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engelland and Nate Guenin were all seen as potential seventh defensemen prior to the start of [...]

Two current Penguins and a former one were named to the Russian Olympic Team it was announced today.  Fresh off a dominating performance against Ottawa on Wednesday night, forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Sergei Gonchar were picked to represent their home country in next year’s Olympics.  In addition, Aleksey Morozov, (remember him?) will also suit up for the Russians.
Don’t forget to tune into the IIHF World Junior Championships on the NHL Network beginning tomorrow.  The United States plays at 8 p.m., four hours following defending champion Canada’s first game.